My take – Finally Apple stumbles with the iPhone 5, Microsoft has a golden opportunity to build an iPhone killer.

Disclaimer: I have an iPhone, I might buy the new iPhone and pretty much love Apple products.

OK, so now that’s out of the way, let’s talk about what happened today.

Apple did EXACTLY what I feared they would do. They underwhelmed with the new iPhone 5.

Yes it’s lighter, yes it’s faster and yes it has IOS 6 but for the first time since Steve Jobs died, I now see the beginning of the end of Apple’s cell phone reign.

They seem to be the tablet king BUT they are clearly losing ther grip on the mobile phone championship title.

The truth of the matter is that the new iPhone is a fine upgrade to the iPhone 4S but it’s nothing spectacular.

The major problem to me is that they kept the phone looking EXACTLY the same and just made it a little taller.

Then they tried to feed us the BS line about making it bigger.

“It’s because of your hand. It should fit there. That’s how we designed the iPhone 5.”

The difference between this new iPhone 5 and the previous iPhone 4 is that the iPhone 5 is going to be a nice-to-have. There is no single feature I saw today that hasn’t been done as well or better by other phones.

This is FINALLY Microsoft’s opportunity to strike with Windows Phone 8.

So here’s the deal Microsoft – No BS, no Windows Phone testing running late, no long stories, You have a once in a lifetime opportunity to strike deep into the heart of Apple territory with a superior phone.

Here’s the problem – the current phones we have seen so far won’t do the job.

The Nokia Lumia 920 – nope too big, blocky and designed by a company in financial trouble – no thanks.

Samsung ATIV phone – looks good but doesn’t look like anything that people will die for.

What to do Microsoft? What to do?

BUILD YOUR OWN DAMN PHONE.

This is the moment for a Microsoft Surface Phone running Windows Phone 8.

Build it by yourselves and pay the same level of attention to it that you (allegedly) did with the Surface tablet.

Make it look sleek and beautiful and make the hardware more attractive than Samsung, Nokia or Apple combined and then throw Windows Phone 8 on it and fight the good fight.

The truth is even though the iPhone 5 is underwhelming, it still seems much better to me than any Windows Phone unit on the market or any that have been announced.

You can’t beat nothing with nothing. It’s an old saying in politics and it’s true here as well.

There’s a very slim window (no pun) open for Microsoft to make this happen. Apple are not stupid. They (deep down) know that this isn’t enough and they will probably rectify this mistake next year.

Why are we concentrating on Apple verse Microsoft in the cell phone market when worldwide Apple only has a 7% share of that market? Microsoft’s main competition is not Apple but rather Google and the Open Handset Alliance’s OS Android. Unless Microsoft can convince Samsung and Nokia to produce more Windows 8 phones than their current platform they won’t succeed in the market. Apple is actually a minor player which is likely why they are concentrating on the iPad.

http://voleheart-skytex.blogspot.com Ezekiel Carsella

that is no where near the truth. do you realize the US market is much more important than the global? if they (Apple) gain a foothold in the cell phone space then they will further their tablet lead thus ultimate destroy any Surface leads.

Sadly, money values tell you nothing (except for the companies making it)! You have to look at volumes sold of anything to get a real picture! It is like the movie industry talking about the biggest box office showing ever! They base this on money made on ticket sales NOT the actual tickets sold!?! Movies 7 or 8 years ago cost $8 a ticket, now they are $15! 20% less ticket sales still shows more money made, means nothing!
Give me a comparison of actual products sold, NOT the money made!!!

Neil Perks

“do you realize the US market is much more important than the global?”

Why ?, last time I looked on Wiki there was a global total of 5.6Bn mobile phones in use globally:

So that makes US something under 6% of the potential global market. I think the rest of the world might be a little important to some companies?

With the rapid rise in the number of mobile users in developing countries this is only set to diminish further.

Onuora Amobi

Good points!

Damian Klop

What I would like the Iphone 6 to be:
(1) a revolutionary new look and not just an update on the last phone (it is now looking old);
(2) look more like the new Ipod
(3) wider screen
(4) micro usb connector like all other companies – Apples connector irritates me as you always have to have it with you
(5) micro sd slot so you can look at pictures from camera’s sd card (or in the next ipad?);
(6) NFC;
(7) choice of more colours.

Apple is now a victim of its own success. We expect miracles but for the FIRST time my wishes for the iPhone is that it be a bit more like Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and Nokia’s Windows phones.

Onuora Amobi

I think they will get it right next year.

Microsoft have a small window of opportunity…

Yada Yada Yada

I don’t believe it. Last year when Apple failed to innovate with a new design, we all said “I think they will get it right next year”. It is next year and no, they didn’t.

No, next year, they will play catch-up again to everyone else that innovates with new ideas, taking chances in the market. Sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding. But they will innovate.

We will get a 6th row next year… and maybe.. NFC.

JohnnyG

I’m not so sure about that.

Innovation is hard. I’m sure Steve Jobs was not the only person at Apple capable of innovation, but he certainly drove it. Tim Cook strikes me more as a business guy, as opposed to someone with Steve’s passion and drive. It could be a real challenge to give the folks with the innovative ideas enough latitude to really come up with something revolutionary. Steve could bet the whole company on a new idea and force it through. Who else within Apple can do that?

doc

“Lumia 920 – too big, blocky and designed by a company in financial trouble – no thanks.”

Stopped reading there. Dear god man are you a straight up moron or simply completely clueless?

Onuora Amobi

You’re right. Nokia is in great financial shape, what was I thinking?

Oh and you’re right again, the 920 is super svelte and slim.

Corrections made.

🙂

doc

The fact that is in financial trouble doesn’t make the phone any less good.

There is no doubt that Nokia is in financial trouble at the moment, but so was Apple when it came out with the iMac. Look where they are now.

Coker

What more do you want Apple to do for the iPhone, clean the kitchen sink? There is only so much room in these tiny devices.
If you do not like it, don’t buy it. Better yet, go out, design, and build your own mobile phone.

Onuora Amobi

That’s the problem with being successful, people expect more and more…

Yada Yada Yada

…only because Apple pushes us to think that. Even Jobs kept hailing how innovating they are and how they always trump the competition.

Well sadly, they haven’t for the past two phones. iPhone 4 was last cool product that was innovative.

So yes, we expect more because Apple has conditioned us to expect more. Now that they haven’t, everyone is quick to blame people for expecting more.

Sheesh.

Yada Yada Yada

Sorry, that is one of the lamest comebacks ever… “go out and build one yourself” Just.. stop it.

Apple has conditioned the masses that they are the coolest and most innovative.

All they do lately is barely catch up. Read the specs of the iPhone 5… no innovation, only catch up. And then, the miss the new things we all think are cool…

Wireless charging. Yes, I want it. Simply laying my phone on a surface is better than trying to find the plug in the dark at night. (yes you can attack my statement, but it won’t change my point or stance).

NFC. Yes, I want it. MANY places where I live use NFC for charges. Wake up Apple, get yourself caught up. Maybe next year huh?

I don’t dislike Apple, I dislike the fanatics that seemingly blindly follow what Apple says. Example: last year when >4″ displays were cool, Apple said they wouldn’t change from 3.5″. This year, they did (cool, btw). Now, it is all the rage by Apple.

Sheesh.

Ade

It may well be underwhelming but after having an Omnia 7 since launch it’s left me wondering whether to upgrade to Windows Phone 8 due to the extreme lack of decent mainstream apps and also a real lack of features within the phone. I mean when it comes down to it and I play with the phone a bit, there really doesn’t seem to be a lot there.

Because of this it’s sad to say I’m actually tempted by this phone. At least I know it will work properly.

However what Onuora said about MS making their own one in the vein of the Surface would be fantastic. Especially if it was packed full of features.

Onuora Amobi

Yeah.. I actually think a Surface phone would be pretty badass!

W C

Metro apps made for win8 and winRT will also work on WP8. So there should be enough mainstream apps for WP8 users.

JohnnyG

I hear you. I have an HTC HD7 and I love the phone itself. But it’s been frustrating to have so few mainstream apps. But I think the challenge is really one of market share. Companies don’t bother to create Windows Phone apps because there isn’t enough demand to justify the effort and people don’t gravitate to the phone because the apps aren’t there. It’s a bit of a “catch 22.”

Microsoft *may* rectify that with WP8. One of the cool things about an iPad is that you can also run all the iPhone apps as well. Perhaps if WP8 apps can be run on Windows 8 there will be more incentive for companies to write for that platform. That could change things a bit. It’s hard to tell at this point.

“It’s because of your hand. It should fit there. That’s how we designed the iPhone 5.”

I have a lot of things that fit in my hand…one in particular!

Samsung to me is still far surperior in smartphones and YES even tablets. iPhone and iPad are as dead as steve jobs.

Onuora Amobi

It’s starting to look that way…

W C

Apple was dead before Steve re-join Apple. And so it should also be dead right after Steve. However, as Apple has a lot of cash, the drop will be long and painful to those stock holders.

Rex

My take on this is quite different. Let me hightlight it.

People went gaga over the new Macbook Pro. All it realy provides over other laptops is the “retina” screen. Yet it caught everyone by surprise. This made the reveal a spectacle.

Everything about the iPhone 5 was rumoured months in advance. But what changed between the 4S and the 5? Processor, screen size, screen pixel density, battery life, camera, OS, phone thickness, backing material, and smaller connector. Now all but the last are huge improvements over the previous version. While the connector might be better as USB, Apple’s solution also allows video out with the right connector which USB doesnt. In reality, this is a very nice phone. Groundshaking when compared to the competition? No. But a very decent example of what a smartphone needs to be now. That is more than enough to keep it in the lead for now.

People have been conditioned to expect the Wow factor with Apple announcements, but how is that possible when everything is already been leaked?

I on the otherhand particularly dislike Apple sensationalism. To me it is all twisted words, so the reveals never effect me. Your picking up of the “built to fit the hand” is nothing new to me. I never, ever trust the words that come from either Jobs or Cook. I guarantee that Apple is working on a toaster-fridge. They would be pure stupid not to. And I dont think they are stupid. If I am wrong on this, Apple will be playing catch up 5 years from now and be in real trouble like they were in the 1990’s.

The irony of me supporting Apple while you, Mr Amobi, being a detractor is not lost on me.

That being said, until recently, there has not been any real competitor to the iPhone. MS hardware and OS was not in the same level. Originally most androids were built with cheap hardware and the OS was not as smooth as it needed to be. MS and Android however, have now gone past the iPhone 4S, and the iPhone 5 just brings all 3 platforms back to an even footing.

So yes, you are absolutely right that Apple can now be beat. But they are better off than they were 10 years ago when only Apple afficiados bought their overpriced products. They can coast for a while if they have to. But they need to regain their secrecy if they are going to get their marketing methods to work again.

I absolutely agree that MS now has an opening in the mobile arena. I especially expect to see huge inroads in the tablet space. but it isnt the by the new hardware alone that is going to see them increase market share in the phone side. MS knows this and I have seen them make some real strides in market placement. They now have a chance to make their phone the elite and they know it. I have been surprised where I have seen the phone in shows, movies and videos. Nice placement that will pay off.

Does MS need to make its own “surface” phone? I dont think so, but it might not hurt to work with a partner to create an elite version like what google does.